My wife and I are building a new house and will have a theater room in the basement. I've been looking into a projector and am thinking screen paint might be the best way to go (less obtrusive than a screen and probably cheaper). Does anyone have experience -- positive or negative -- with paint-on screens? I found this online, and it looks pretty decent: http://www.digitalscreenpaint.com/

What for you is a compelling reason to go with a projector instead of a plasma/lcd/oled television? Picture quality is not one of them.

I have a good friend who operates and consults on high end digital projectors for corporate events, tradeshows, etc. Every single conversation we have about consumer projectors he gets a bad look on his face. I ask why and then he begins to recite the million reasons why 99.9% of consumer projectors suck and the 1 or 2 reasons why they don't. As hard as you try as well as the guys on avsforums try a projector will not look as good or nearly as sharp as a plasma/lcd/oled television. Just not going to happen.

What for you is a compelling reason to go with a projector instead of a plasma/lcd/oled television? Picture quality is not one of them.

I have a good friend who operates and consults on high end digital projectors for corporate events, tradeshows, etc. Every single conversation we have about consumer projectors he gets a bad look on his face. I ask why and then he begins to recite the million reasons why 99.9% of consumer projectors suck and the 1 or 2 reasons why they don't. As hard as you try as well as the guys on avsforums try a projector will not look as good or nearly as sharp as a plasma/lcd/oled television. Just not going to happen.

Which projectors specifically? Because you can get some very good projectors that will rival or beat plasma/lcd (oled isn't out and doesn't count).

Which projectors specifically? Because you can get some very good projectors that will rival or beat plasma/lcd (oled isn't out and doesn't count).

John I always respect your opinions because I know you're a gadget freak like me but there is absolutely no consumer projector that will rival or beat a plasma or lcd. It just isn't there. Now you can do lots of things to make a projector look better (good screen, tuning discs, pitch black room with NO extra light) but they just don't look nearly as good. There is no crispness, there is no defined color separation and there are no true blacks.

I admit it would be cool to get a 150" screen no doubt. But isn't it a little fishy that you could find a consumer projector that could create such a screen size for less than a plasma or lcd?

Size of picture I can understand. Picture quality ain't gonna happen. A neighbor has a projector home theater setup and he's an avsforum guy as well. He's tuned his system, done all the tricks they all talk about but at the end of the day the picture isn't real sharp, the colors bleed and in general it does not compete with a plasma/lcd.

Best thing to do is to go to a theater store and compare them. Do a comparison with your own eyes. They won't lie.

I mean what do you consider consumer? Is a $10k projector consumer? LCDs also don't have "true blacks" but people buy them by the truckload. There are tradeoffs for EVERY type of television out there. There is no perfect solution yet, and the projectors are no less of an option than the others.

I mean what do you consider consumer? Is a $10k projector consumer? LCDs also don't have "true blacks" but people buy them by the truckload. There are tradeoffs for EVERY type of television out there. There is no perfect solution yet, and the projectors are no less of an option than the others.

Typically but not always are the majority of projectors that can be purchased at a home theater store, a Best Buy, etc are consumer grade. Some professional projector brands (not all) include Barco, Eiki and Runco to name a few. Consumer projectors would be BenQ, InFocus, Sony and Panasonic.

You're right that the different varieties have different drawbacks like the LCD true black as a good example. If you compare the pluses and minuses of the three we're talking about here (lcd, plasma, projector) then I think you'll find the projectors to have an overall much larger list of drawbacks when compared to the other two.

I admit it would be cool to get a 150" screen no doubt. But isn't it a little fishy that you could find a consumer projector that could create such a screen size for less than a plasma or lcd?

Fishy? No. Because the projector can create a 150" picture just as easily as a 50". That's just how the technology works.

Let me reword it then.

"I admit it would be cool to get a 150" screen no doubt. But isn't it a little fishy that you could find a consumer projector that could create such a large screen size in addition to a smaller screen size or comaprable screen size for less than a plasma or lcd? "

Isn't the whole draw of alot of projectors that you could have a larger screen size than other options? I mean would you really consider a projector over a lcd/plasma if you were going to view at say 50" (<-- example size)

I think in theory they are cool. In real world they just don't look as good as the same or larger screen size. If I was as anal about my video as I am about my audio a projector would not even be in the conversation.

Again the easiest way to get a handle on it is to go and compare the different forms. But when you do make sure that your environmental conditions are the same for each.

I guess I just didn't know what you meant when you said "consumer". I wouldn't look at the brands you mentioned, but definitely would consider a Runco or other projector in that range. I would consider the Sonys and BenQs to be "low end consumer", and the others "high end consumer".

Although there is a new Panasonic 1080p projector that is getting some good reviews, but it's 10+ thousand as well. I can find the model if anyone is actually interested.

I guess I just didn't know what you meant when you said "consumer". I wouldn't look at the brands you mentioned, but definitely would consider a Runco or other projector in that range. I would consider the Sonys and BenQs to be "low end consumer", and the others "high end consumer".

Although there is a new Panasonic 1080p projector that is getting some good reviews, but it's 10+ thousand as well. I can find the model if anyone is actually interested.

I recently bought a 1080p Panasonic. The model is PT-AE200U. I paid a little over 2k. They also offer a less expensive model PT-AE1000U for around $1900. I picked mine up at costco.com. I see they are no longer offering my model. The PT-AE1000U is still available there. I'm LOVING it! Sports are superb on the screen.

Interesting conversation thus far. In truth, my research is just beginning in regards to how to set up my theater room -- an actual theater with raised seating and wall sconces... the whole bit. If I go with a projector (or a TV for that matter), I'll definitely shoot for a 1080p as I don't see the point of spending money on anything less since it's the most current technology. I'm really just gathering basic info at this point, but I appreciate the opinions. T's around.

yes. i've installed projectors in rooms where the client wants to use the wall, painted with that Da-Lite "screen paint".it works, and actually works fairly well, but, for a home theater, i'd stick with a real screen. the brightness and clarity of a screen will beat the wall paint every time. don't cheap out on the screen though. buy a good screen (check Da-Lite..they make some nice ones).

we too are in the process of building a home theater....pin spots, sconces, elevated floor, theater seating, etc.pay no mind to the people suggesting LCD and plasmas over projectors. stick with a decent brand (runco, ben-q, infocus, eiki, etc..) and stay away from low end "buisiness" projectors.

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...pay no mind to the people suggesting LCD and plasmas over projectors...

If you enjoy the impact of a huge picture, a "conventional" television isn't going to cut it. I ran a Sanyo XP-21n for a few years (a glorified but very bright business projector) and the sheer image size outweighed most of the shortcomings as far as I was concerned. Naturally there is also a significant difference between viewing a projected image and viewing an image/light source directly. There's something really cool about the former, but I can't quite put my finger on it.

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